Thursday, August 26, 2010

Today's Wall Street Journal reports a breach of Pentagon security caused by a USB drive. One of the bad guys was able to insert a USB drive into a government networked computer. The drive contained a program designed to grab files from the Government network and pass these along to the enemy. Those on the network who used My Data Guard would have had good protection. The bad guys would have had access to the My Data Guard files, just like other files, but since these are always encrypted, they would have then needed to break the encryption in order to access the contents. With a strong password this would be extremely difficult to do. The lesson? Always keep your most important data encrypted. My Data Guard keeps your data safe - always. Just as important - its easy to use, so you will actually use it.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Yes, it can happen. Pakistan blocked access to Facebook last month. Turkey has blocked thousands of sites. Most recently, Pakistan announced that it is monitoring search engines for anti-islamic content. And we are all familiar with Google's woes in China. The point is that, if a web sites are vulnerable in these cases, they are vulnerable in all cases. If you store your data on a server - there is always a chance that it could be blocked when you need it most. Make sure you keep a copy of your important data encrypted and in your own possession. Don't rely exclusively on outside server's to protect it for you. My Data Guard can help here. It encrypts and stores your personal data locally, so you always have access to it.

Friday, June 18, 2010

My Data Guard was originally published in 1998 as Personal Data Guard. Since then it has been improved in both design and function, but its purpose remains the same: to give users a simple way to protect and retrieve private information.

The initial idea grew out of my work as a software engineer. In our office we worked on a number of government contracts, and each had its own passwords to keep track of. You may be familiar with some of the government's ever changing rules, for example:

Passwords must contain at least two upper case, two lower case, two special characters, two numbers, be at least 15 characters in length and contain no personal information.

What was needed was a safe but simple way to store these passwords. AND they had to be easily and immediately retrievable.

Today, My Data Guard serves this function. All one needs to remember is one password. This one password protects and gives access to the many passwords you need to keep track of.

Keeping passwords safe is important, but there are also many other kinds of information that we need to keep private but to also have easy access to. Financial data is a one; pins, account numbers, wire transfer data, net worth, assets, all need to be safely protected.

Health data is another. Your health history needs to be recorded but also protected! Medications, ailments, recent problems, shot records, treatments, diagnoses, health insurance data. Using My Data Guard you can keep all this information safely locked up but available as soon as you need it. Going to the doctors? Open the encrypted data, make a note or printout what your need, and take it with you.

Other types of data that should be protected might include: where your safe deposit box key is kept; the combination to your safe, gym locker or bike lock; the insurance policies you have as well as credit cards. Put your wallet's data in My Data Guard. If you're travelling and your wallet is stolen, you'll still have access to your important data. You can also use My Data Guard to instruct your heirs on what to do in the event of your death. Simply supply the password to one trusted individual.

My Data Guard sits on your desktop. With a simple click and one password you unlock all the encrypted information that your need, all in one place. Enter the phrase that describes the information you need in the search box and go right to it. Then copy and paste or read and close.

I keep all my data is one file, in this way, I can find any piece of data that I need just by opening one file. But many do keep other files that contain specialized data - for instance the 'in the event of my death' instructions. You can create as many separate data files as you like.

Unlike other programs, with My Data Guard you enter all your information in free text. You are not bound by data types - you can enter information in any way you like.

Another important feature. You own and control your own data. It stays with you, not on the Internet. You can (and should) back this data up - and this feature is included as well. The program also includes a utility to encrypt any file on your computer that you want to.

Try it out, it comes with a free trial period. After that, a one year license is only $9.95. But there is no downside if you don't purchase - a license is not needed to decrypt and read your private data - you only need a license to add to it. So go ahead, download the program, enter your important data during the free trial period, and you'll never need to spend a penny. Of course, we hope (and believe) that you will and so support our continued development, and get the most of of My Data Guard.